Through The Haze
by Race122VE
Summary: SPOILERS for 6.17 – “Bad Reputation” My take on what’s going on in Glee based on a clip I saw. See Author’s Note. One Shot.


_**Title:**__ Through The Haze  
__**Author:**__ Race122VE (Coll)  
__**Pairing:**__ Brittany/Santana  
__**Rating:**__ PG-13  
__**Summary:**__ SPOILERS for 6.17 – "Bad Reputation" My take on what's going on in Glee based on a clip I saw. See Author's Note. One Shot.  
__**Disclaimer:**__ All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.  
__**Author's Note:**__ This is a fic I wrote after watching a sneak peek of "Bad Reputation" (Glee Ep. 17 airing on May 4__th__). You can find the clip at E! Watch w/Kristin: Heather Morris/Brittany Sneak Peek from Glee. __The article, itself, is not spoilery and it's nice to see Heather Morris (Brittany) get some recognition for what she does. The story is just my take on what might happen. For those who do not want to be spoiled, I'd wait to read this because I don't want you to be mad at me. Plus, I commend you on remaining spoiler-free, because I could never do that, haha. Anyway, this is also my first attempt at this pairing/fandom, so I hope you enjoy it! Thanks!_

The Glist was out.

No one was happy about it; and, even though Santana knew the ranks long before any of the Glee Club knew there was such a thing, it didn't make it any easier seeing her name under Quinn Fabray's (and seeing Brittany fourth). She didn't really get it: Coach Sylvester's master plan behind what she dubbed "The Glist," but it wasn't her job to get it. Her job, along with Brittany, was to do whatever Sue Sylvester told them.

And that's what Santana did, time and time again. No matter what it cost her personally (sabotaging the best part of her day, sleeping with Finn, etc.), she followed through. While not always successful, she still would march back into Coach's office with her chin up and a steely gaze. Deep down, however, she was trying to keep the pieces of herself together. No one would've been able to guess, not even Brittany.

The only person that mattered, really mattered, to Santana in this crappy school in the crappy town was the driving force behind the act she had been playing since she first joined her cheerleading squad in middle school. The only thing worse than being stuck in the schools in this suck ass town until high school graduation was being at the bottom of the social ladder in the schools in this suck ass town.

So, she played the part: the bitchy cheerleader who slept with anybody that propositioned her. Brittany followed suit, substituting bitchy for ditzy. They were a pair, though, hiding under the guise of promiscuity; because, even though they were at the top, they could fall just as easily to the bottom if they weren't careful about revealing too much about their relationship.

High school was just four years Santana had to get through. Four years she had to make sure Brittany would get through, as well. Not only get through, but do well enough to get them out of Ohio and somewhere they didn't have play these parts.

Well, Santana wouldn't have to anyway. Despite being the person closest to her, Brittany was also the most open and honest person she knew. Not all of it was kind, or smart, but it was real. The only thing Brittany lied about was the true nature of her and Santana's relationship, and she only did that because Santana asked.

As she left class later in the day and thoughts of Brittany kept appearing in here mind, Santana soon realized that she hadn't seen the other girl since the release of the Glist. Her face contorted into a mixture of concern and curiosity as she decided to ditch her next class and try to find Brittany. She found her in the choir room, seated on the second level with her hands in her lap and her eyes focused forward. Santana knew Brittany well enough to know that, even though a blank expression sat comfortably on her face Brittany was deep in thought.

Or stoned. It was hard to tell the difference sometimes.

"Brittany?"

A, literal, thirty seconds passed as Santana waited in the frame of the door waiting for her friend to acknowledge her presence in the room. "Britt?" she tried again, slightly louder and moving further into the choir room in an unusually slow step.

It wasn't until she was almost in front of her that Brittany's eyes shifted to Santana. A goofy grin was all she got in recognition. "Is this where you've been?" Santana questioned, dropping her bag on to the floor and standing right in front of the blonde. "All day…is this where you've been?"

"I already explained this," Brittany sighed in response, the smile dropping from her face in frustration.

"I just got here-"

"I'm number four on the Glist," Brittany continued, monotone. "I think I'm involved in a plan to help change it, but I can't be sure because I can't figure out if I was awake or dreaming."

Santana brought her hand up and rubbed her eyes harshly. "I wanna say I was awake," Brittany continued, voicing her over the top thoughts. "But the way Kurt was dressed…"

"OK, Brittany," Santana exhaled, giving herself time to calm her nerves, before continuing. "Let's start at the beginning, and then I can help you figure out what's going on."

A moment passed, giving Brittany time to think about the question before saying, "It's gonna take a long time if I start at the beginning…plus…I can't remember what it was like when I was born-"

"Today, Britt," Santana cut in loudly. She stopped herself from going forward and being harsher and allowed Brittany to adjust. "After the Glist was put up, where did you go?"

"Oh," she responded dreamily. "I stayed here and took my antibiotics."

Everything suddenly made sense. Santana softened, stepping up to the level and pulling a chair over so she could sit next to Brittany. "Remember what I said last time when you had a cold?" Brittany opened her mouth to reply, but Santana rushed on knowing that her sentence was the stupid one. "OK, OK, forget it…and you don't have to worry about the Glist."

"What do you mean? I'm fourth-"

"I know it's hard to remember right now," Santana went on. "But this is all part of Coach's plan. I mean, do you think I'm happy playing number two to Quinn?"

Brittany bit her bottom lip, considering Santana's feeling's on being ranked lower than Quinn. "I wondered about that, too," she admitted with a nod.

"Look, the last time you went overboard on cold medicine you bounced back fine," Santana reminded her as she reached over and laced her fingers through Brittany's. "Once you remember you'll know that the Glist doesn't _really_ matter."

"It's just…" Brittany trailed off for a second. Through the antibiotic haze, Santana recognized the tentative look that flashed across Brittany's face before she continued, "I didn't want to let you down. We worked so hard to stay on top and…I know we're really in Glee to help Coach destroy it, but I don't really want that. Then, I don't get high enough on the Glist and I just feel like this…double loser, and you don't hang out with losers."

"You're not a loser," Santana told her quietly, surely, as she brought up her free hand to push back Brittany's bangs. "And nothing you could do would let me down."

Her bright, blue eyes were still slightly cloudy, but when they locked with Santana's deep brown a sense of sobriety and consciousness took over. At this point in their relationships, small moments like these would settle over them and instinct took over. They were drawn to each other, like slow moving magnets.

Their knees brushed together first, and that would result in a pleasant jolt that traveled quickly through their bodies. The first touch was always short, but it never took long for another to follow. It merely allowed both Santana and Brittany to appreciate the skimpiness of the Cheerio's uniform.

Santana's hand moved around to the back of Brittany's neck, gently drawing her closer as the blonde's hands smoothed over her knees and journeyed upwards along tan thighs. Their lips brushed together once, gently, and both women hovered over each other's smiling lips before diving back in to a deeper, longer kiss. Moments, which seemed like hours, passed before the need for air became too much for them. They broke apart, but remained close.

It only took a mere second for reality to invade Santana's senses, but once it did her eyes tore away from Brittany's and over towards the open door to the choir room. She pulled away, dropping her hand from Brittany's neck and into her lap. Brittany shivered from the sudden lack of contact.

"We have to be careful," Santana said out loud, reminding both of them but more herself. "The door was wide open."

"Everyone else is in class," Brittany responded. "Shouldn't you be?"

"We both should," she replied, bringing her eyes back to Brittany. "I ditched for you…to look for you."

"Really?" Brittany asked, her hopes shooting upwards.

"And I think we should ditch the rest of the day," Santana concluded with a smile. "We'll grab a burger then head back to my place."

Brittany frowned, "What about Sue Sylvester's master cleanse?"

A knowing, suggestive smile spread across Santana's face, "I think we'll be able to make up for it."

Santana rose from her chair and hopped down to the floor and threw her bag over her shoulder. She waited a moment, her eyes checking the door once more before she turned back to Brittany and held out her pinky.

Even though she would always feel bad when Santana would become paranoid and pull away, Brittany was only human and couldn't resist the idea of ditching school, burgers, and an afternoon tangling herself together with Santana. Deep down, she knew Santana did what she had to do to protect them, to guide Brittany through the haze and out to the other side safely. What she would never realize was that Brittany was navigating Santana through a haze of her own, one that she might not have been aware of.

Brittany remained by her side through the facades, the double crossing, through the random (and meaningless) hook ups, and through the paranoia of their true relationship being exposed. Through all that, Brittany's job was to always remind Santana how much they both truly loved each other. While they both had their parts to play on the outside, inside Brittany and Santana played their own roles to help ensure that once they got out of this crappy town they'd still be together.

So, Brittany stood, forgetting that only minutes before Santana arrived that she couldn't remember how to do that, and hopped down to eagerly link her pinky to Santana's.


End file.
